Distractions
by MerlynLover
Summary: Jack has way too many distractions while working at the Pentagon… including someone pacing outside his door. Sam/Jack My internet is back from the dead, so now we have SEVEN CHAPTERS!
1. Chapter 1

Title? Distractions

Author? MerlynLover

Summary? Jack has way too many distractions while working at the Pentagon… including someone pacing outside his door.

Ship? Sam/Jack

Rating? K

Disclaimer? None of these characters are mine, please don't sue me

Now, on with the story… Enjoy!

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Jack O'Neill needed a vacation, a break-away to a little cabin he knew of smack in the middle of nowhere Minnesota. He was sure he needed some quality fishing time soon as he had gotten absolutely zero, zip nada, zilch work done in the past hour and a half. He had been staring at the blank Word document on what he was sure was a very expensive computer monitor, but was finding more enjoyment in listening to the dust particles fall to the floor. He had heard every single minute sound humanly possible (he could check with Carter next time he emailed her) including the sound of a roller desk chair slide across the carpeted floor of the office above him. He had only been working at the Pentagon for a week, but was already bored out of his skull. He had thought, when he put in for the transfer, that he could do a better job in D.C. than he could running the SGC. Running the SGC had been taxing and stressful, he had gotten about as much sleep each week as the amount of work he had done in the past hour and a half. He had thought that with his transfer to the Pentagon, the SGC would find someone who was actually qualified and adept at running Stargate Operations and that his life would become so much easier. He was so wrong. He didn't have the kind of brain they needed to run Homeworld Security! What was he thinking? This was a job better suited for the brilliancy that was Lt. Colonel Sam Carter.

Speaking of Sam (as he now allowed himself to call her in his mind) seemed to be ignoring him since he moved to D.C. He, Teal'c and Daniel were keeping up with regular phone calls and emails, but Sam never took his calls, or if he called her at work, she said she was busy, which effectively ended any conversation. When they emailed, she was distant and didn't banter with him like she normally did, she hadn't even offered a ":)" for his teasing and kept her replies short and to the point, never any more than there needed to be. Very unlike the Sam Carter he knew when he was still at the SGC. He was pulled out of his reverie by the "ping" that said he had received a new email. It was revisions of a document he had sent to yet another officer under his control at Homeworld Security. He decided to look at the revisions later, he had his own work to get done.

The next half hour drug by with the same amount of nonexistent progress, this time though, the past ten minutes had provided some more audible distractions than the previous length of time. For the past ten minutes, having started at 12:23, someone had been pacing outside the door to his office. The steps had begun by coming up to and stopping in front of his door, but a moment before he called "Enter!" the steps had backed off and begun their laps. At first they had only seemed to move a few steps to one side, pausing before moving several paces in the opposite direction. The width of the track the person was wearing in the floor got slowly larger over the ten minute period however, and now had a ten or eleven step diameter. Diameter, ha! A term he remembered that came from as far back as High School. He made a note to tell Carter that as well next time he sent her a message, she would be so proud he thought with a small lopsided smile. He looked at the clock: 12:34. Cool, he thought, one – two – three – four, he did a little dance in his chair and his smile widened a little. Okay, it's nearly lunch time, I really have to get some work done, he chided himself and again attempted to focus on writing his proposal.

The pacing outside his door was driving him crazy, he couldn't ignore it, and if he didn't find out who it was, he was never going to get a single thing done. Letting out a sigh, he got up from his chair, wincing slightly as his knee protested and moved across the room to his door. Placing his hands on the wood of the door, he leaned down to peer through the tiny peep hole that was installed in his door about a foot too low. His eyebrows shot up when he recognized the tall, slender frame and short mess of blonde locks that could belong to none other than his former second in command.

Jack backed away from the door wondering why in the world Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter would be pacing outside his office door in Washington, D.C. And for the past fifteen minutes no less! There's no way she would come here for that… would she? He had dropped a small hint before he left that the frat regs would no longer apply to them and if she wanted to give anything a try, he would be open for suggestions. But after Pete and Kerry, he hadn't really expected her to do anything about it, although he had certainly hoped. Well, there was only one way to find out he thought as he shrugged and opened the door.

Jack O'Neill had only ever seen Sam Carter so lost in herself that she had no idea of what was happening around her when she was in her lab messing with some odd doohickey or another. This time however, she was lost in her own mind while pacing up and down a hallway in the Pentagon before a Brigadier General. He often enjoyed just watching Sam, no matter what she was doing. She had often caught him leaned up against the doorjamb of her lab just watching her with an almost imperceptible smile on his face. A small upturn at the corners of his lips, a slight shimmer in his eyes, the only time his hands were ever still. That same description could now be used for the Jack standing in the doorway to his office watching Carter pace the hallway.

Finally deciding to break the silent reverie, in which she was probably trying to talk herself out of being here, he spoke. "Looking for me?" He asked with a small tease in his voice, his lopsided smile gracing his face. Her body froze while her head snapped around so fast, she could have gotten whiplash.

Blushing a nice shade of pink, (it was a kind of pink that seemed to match her dress blues he thought while simultaneously deciding not to tell her that bit of information), she tried in vain to form a coherent sentence, "I… uh…"

His smile got a hair wider as he watched her expressions. "Look," he started "you had any lunch?"

Her brain and muscles apparently decided to work together as she answered his question, "I had something on the plane…"

"Alright, give me two minutes," he said as he turned to re-enter his office.

"Sir, I…" she began, but was cut off.

"Hey, if you flew all the way from Colorado Springs to D.C., and if you were pacing outside my door for fifteen minutes, then I think you're here to talk to me about what I think you're here to talk to me about…" he paused an extra moment between the last few words and trailed off at the end while a puzzled look crossed his face. He shook his head and smiled again when he noticed that Sam had ducked her head slightly, grinning at his sentence structure. "Then we're going to want to be somewhere other than a hallway… and we might as well go to lunch since neither of us has had any… I'll buy, make you feel better?" He concluded the thought when he saw a hint of doubt and hesitation flicker across her features. "So, just give me two minutes and we'll go down the street to a place I know of that serves the best seafood," he explained as he went around his office, locking his file cabinets and logging off the computer. "Shall we?" He asked sweeping his arm down the hallway after he had fully locked up his office.

"We shall," she answered with a grin, falling easily into their normal banter as they walked together down the hallway to what Jack hoped would be the start to a great rest of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

Title? Distractions – Chapter 2

Author? MerlynLover

Summary? Sequel to Distractions; Sam and Jack go out to lunch (first date??) after meeting in the Pentagon

Ship? Sam/Jack

Rating? K

Disclaimer? None of these characters are mine, please don't sue me

A/N? I found Legal Sea Foods online, thus I have never been there so don't get mad at me if I screw something up about that… :)

And I apologize for the delay… its NaNoWriMo month ( – check it out)… so I'm busy trying to write a novel during midterm season… hehe…

Now, on with the story… Enjoy! (and don't forget to review… I shall give you a cookie if you do!)

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Brigadier General Jack O'Neill and Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter sauntered down the beehive-like halls of the Pentagon, the royal blue bees humming through the halls, dipping in and out of different doors and down the halls, desperate to find and spread their honey to the others. Amongst them, the two officers walked closely and at a slower, more sedate pace chatting amiably. They slowly worked their way towards the outer ring of the Pentagon until they finally reached the clichéd perfectly bright and sunny outdoors. "So where are you taking me anyway?" Sam aimed the loaded question at Jack, already knowing he wouldn't answer.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," he grinned as he delivered the usual line.

"I worked at the Pentagon for several years too you know… I know the restaurants in the area probably as well as you do," she quipped back.

"Alrighty then Dorothy, I'll give you a hint…" Sam sighed but let out a small giggle. Jack snuck a glance at her, his smile widening slightly. "Follow yonder yellow brick road," he pointed vaguely down the street they were now walking towards, "until you get to a great green palace that serves hearts, great fish, brains, good steaks, courage and nice beer." Jack looked as pleased as a child that just finished their first picture where they stayed within the lines. He looked so proud, Sam couldn't help break into a small fit of giggles. "What have I said about giggling Colonel?" Jack half scolded her.

"That it is… sexy and you love it?" Sam continued to berate him.

"Precisely," he delivered back, "but the exact word I used was 'Don't'" he tried to hold back the grin tugging at his lips.

"So… fish, steak and beer, huh? Sounds like heaven for Jack O'Neill," she joked.

"Yup," he answered simply in classic O'Neill style.

The two walked along in comfortable silence for another minute or two before Sam broke it with "So, how's the desk job working out for you?" She asked, suspecting his answer of…

"Gah! I hate it… this is more your area of expertise, not mine. I don't know why I even accepted it instead of just retiring…" he trailed off.

"Because you know that your knowledge is invaluable and irreplaceable for matters concerning the operations and decisions regarding the future of the Stargate Program?" She offered as an answer to his rhetorical question.

He sighed before changing the subject, "yeah yeah. But enough about my boring as one of Daniel's lectures job… how's your new General? Landry?"

"Landry's alright. He's not quite as good as you or Hammond was, but he's just learning as he goes along. Hammond did it too. We just got spoiled after so many years of breaking Hammond in and now we have to do it all over again." She realized she was rambling a little bit and cut herself off.

"He'll get there," Jack offered. "And who's the new guy? Same rank as you… Mitch Camel?"

Sam laughed at his weak joke. Jack almost never forgot anyone's name, he just loved to come up with sarcastic replacements for them. "Cameron Mitchell," she supplied. They talked for another several minutes about what was happening with "the new SG-1" and how Daniel and Teal'c were doing.

After about 20 minutes of walking, Jack finally announced "We're here!"

Sam looked up at the giant gold fish and bold red lettering of "Legal Sea Foods" and smiling at the slogan "If it's not fresh, it's not Legal." Even the wordplay slogan sounded like something Jack would say. Jack walked over and pulled open the door. He swept his hand gracefully to usher her in as she blushed slightly and giggled quietly.

Sam slowed to a near crawl as she took in the restaurant's interior surroundings. Jack walked towards the small podium as the maître d' welcomed him, "General O'Neill, nice to see you back again. Is the miss with you?"

Jack nodded at the last question as he answered "yeah, two, and will you stop calling me General already?" He teased the man who had been calling him by his rank since the first time he walked in and did the patented scan from shoulder to left chest for the rank and last name information.

"Sorry sir. Follow me if you would. It's a habit from when I was a kid growing up in D.C. Never really kicked the addiction," the man quipped back. Jack smiled showing he got the joke as the man glanced back, but said nothing as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle slightly. Sam followed the two towards a back table near the window overlooking the street filled with gawking, pointing tourists all dressed like they should be in a theme park. The windows of the restaurant were tinted just enough that the weaving lines of tourists could see that there were people and so did not try to fix their hair in the reflection, but could not see anything other than basic shapes and outlines.

It was not until they sat down at the table facing each other that Jack could see what his neck hairs had been communicating. Sam was much more tense now and looked everywhere for a distraction that kept her from Jack's face. She finally settled on watching the people on the street, spewing from the identical shops, stores and boutiques like ants from an ant hill. A waiter quickly replaced the maître d', handing them menus and requesting drink orders. "Diet coke and a beer," he offered the waiter as Sam appeared not to have noticed.

Jack understood Sam's current tension, walking along the street it had felt almost like they were on a mission, besides being in dress blues without combat boots or P90s. He had tensed up a little too, realizing exactly what they were doing here when they walked through the door. Only years more of black ops training than she had had kept him from showing the tension. While he had been studying her, Sam had picked up the menu and studied that as intently as a new doohickey from off-world she was taking apart. Jack copied her, surveying the menu that changed each day according to the fresh fish of the day.

Jack broke the silence after a moment asking "Know what you want?"

"I was thinking the blackened tuna sashimi looked good…" she said it almost like a question.

"I've had that before, it's pretty good. I was going to going to go for the Crab legs with steak myself…" he trailed off watching her carefully. She had completely ignored all that he said. If he had been talking about the fact that Thor looked like a leprechaun now and she wouldn't have raised an eyebrow. She had set the menu down and was picking at the corner with a lost look in her eyes. She had had that look before, when she had been working out a complex equation in her head when no writing utensils were available. He leaned back into the chair and waited. She was sure to spill he thoughts any moment now.

"What if it's gone?" she finally asked not raising her eyes from the menu she was mangling.

"The tuna? It won't be this early in the day," he tried, not sure what she was asking about and not wanting to answer the question according to his suspicions if he didn't have to.

Sam looked up, staring into his deep coffee colored eyes with her own penetrating sea colored ones. "Us" was the simple answer she gave. While Jack struggled to find an idea of what to say, she decided to continue, "What if we waited so long… there's nothing left? There's nothing there anymore?"

Jack sighed and told her his opinion, "Would you be here is it was gone? Why did you come then?" Sam's eyes fell back to her hands for a moment and Jack quickly slid over to the chair next to her and leaned forward, one forearm resting on the table. "That's what I think… but if you want to be sure…?" He left the end of the question open as he leaned slowly closer towards her.

"Yes," she answered quietly as he raised a hand to her cheek, but paused only a hair's width away from touching her. Sam had sucked in her breath and held it there. He paused only a second before moving his hand to smooth against her skin. The moment his hand touched her, she felt a small jolt of electricity jump between them. The pair smiled in unison as they realized both had felt the spark and simultaneously closed the remaining gap between them. Their first non-alien-virus-affected, non-alternate-reality, non-time-loop-related, non-memory-stamp, non-concussion-induced-hallucination kiss… it was soft, sweet, and way too short. Jack pulled away only a moment later not wanting to get to intimate amidst the busy restaurant, though regretting it slightly.

"That," he said quietly, hand still on her cheek, "is how we know."


	3. Chapter 3

Title? Distractions – Chapter 3

Author? MerlynLover

Summary? Sequel to Distractions 1 & 2; Sam and Jack are at lunch (first date… yup) and talk about some things

Ship? Sam/Jack

Rating? K

Disclaimer? None of these characters are mine, please don't sue me

A/N? WOW! You all make me feel so great! As this is my first ever written down fanfic, I wasn't sure if it was horrible or not… I wasn't planning on adding chapters to it, it was just going to be a one-shot. But with so many people asking for more, I did. I tend to be writing these new chapters at 1am though, so if something turns out completely insane, let me know! But thanks to everyone who encouraged me to keep writing… you make my day!

And I apologize for the delay… its NaNoWriMo month (50,000 words in 30 days – check it out)… so I'm busy trying to write a novel and this fic during midterm season… hehe…

And also… my internet decided to kick the bucket for a little while, so I lost the updating ability… but now, I get to make everyone happy and post Chapters 3 – 6 right away and I am writing Chapter 7 tonight! Hope you like where I'm going… and if you don't, feel free to tell me I suck… :)

Now, on with the story… Enjoy! (and don't forget to review… I shall give you a cookie if you do!)

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"That," he said quietly, hand still on her cheek, "is how we know."

Jack O'Neill and Sam Carter grinned in unison before Sam leaned in to kiss him lightly once more. She kept it short, however, as being in a restaurant now was a curse and a blessing. When she pulled away from his lips for the second time, still smiling, he asked "Still nervous?"

"A little," she admitted, leaning towards the back of the chair again. Jack copied her movement before adding, "Alright, so how about we get the other nervous-related questions out of the way now then? Have somewhere to stay while you're here?"

Sam but the side of her bottom lip, pausing before slowly answering "No…" as she eyed him warily.

Noticing her suspicious expression he held up his palms to her as answered her eyes "Hey, I'd be well behaved. I was planning on sleeping on the couch." He followed up the serious phrase with a joking "What? Don't you trust me?"

Sam cracked a small smile at his teasing as she answered his question in her head _'with my life, yes. With my heart, I don't know yet. Though I don't have a reason not to. If anyone shouldn't be trusting, it should be him. After all, I was the one who left him for Pete.' _As she finished this mental conversation, she noticed Jack was speaking again.

Watching her face as if he were planning which tactic to use on a mission, Jack continued carefully "Hotel O'Neill is way better than any other place you could find around here. And a lot cheaper too," he announced proudly. Sam was smiling again, so he continued. "It's a bigger room, more comfortable accommodations, better company," he added the last bit with a grin. "And of course, don't forget, a first class breakfast, made by yours truly. My secret recipe omelets are to die for."

Sam waited a beat before nodding, but adding "Well Sir-Jack…"

"Don't force it, it'll come," Jack told her easily in response to her name stumble.

She nodded again before continuing "I should probably be the one to sleep on the couch. I know I would not be looking forward to your grumbling the next morning about everything being sore."

Jack nodded before he seemed to catch on to her veiled insult, "Hey… did you just call me old and cranky?"

"Yes sir," she quipped back, grinning

"Getting snarky these days I see…" He joked back.

Sam opened her mouth to respond, but then turned as she saw the waiter appear in her vision. The man passed their drinks to them apologizing, "Sorry for the wait. It's rather busy in here today."

"No problem. Your timing was perfect actually," Jack commented, sneaking a glance at Sam, who recognized the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

When Sam looked down, staring confused at the drink before her, Jack supplied "Diet Coke."

"Thanks," she replied, smile only widening and turned back to the waiter as he asked,

"So, are you ready to order?"

The two ordered their food and after the waiter left, Jack turned back to her, "I was thinking the other day, and I noticed that even after so many years of working together, I don't really know all that much about you." When Sam looked puzzled he continued, "I mean… I know how you fight, how you show your emotions, but I don't know the simple things… like what your favorite color is – though I would suspect blue – what's your favorite non-science-y book, why you got into motorcycles…" He trailed off realizing he'd rambled on way too long.

To his surprise, Sam just grinned. "Alright," she answered, "then today is about truly getting to know each other… that's usually the first step when people start dating, right?"

He grinned, unused to hearing the word 'dating' at his age, but he liked it, especially in regards to the blonde sitting next to him. "Yeah sure ya betcha."

~*~*~

Sam and Jack spent the meal trading questions like 'What pets did you have?' and 'Who was your first kiss with?' At the end of the meal, they leaned back in their chairs feeling content and full. "Chocolate cake?" Jack proposed dessert.

Sam sighed and contemplated her full stomach. She tried to decide if she could fit the cake in for a long minute or two before asking, "What if it's gone?"

Jack's eyebrow's rose, puzzled, he asked "Didn't we already answer that question?"

Sam laughed, realizing she had used the exact same question 45 minutes ago but in a completely different regard. "The cake," she informed him, "What if they're out? I only saw a few pieces left in the case when we walked in."

Realization dawned on his features and he chuckled a little before shrugging and saying, "Well, we can ask."

~*~*~

It turned out that Sam was right, they had run out of the cake, so Jack paid the bill, with Sam's opposition, and they left the bustling restaurant and entered onto the hurried streets of the city. The tourists, now revived after a lunch break and faster than ever, weaved in and around the two officers, who slowly made their way back towards the Pentagon. When the pair made it to the quieter section as they neared the five-sided building, Jack glanced at her and asked "Do you have something to do while I ecstatically head back to my paperwork?"

"Yeah," she responded, "Daniel said I should come out to D.C. and look up some old friends while we have time off. I have a few friends still working here, so I can catch up with them for awhile."

"Daniel suggested that huh?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"I know. I didn't buy that reason either. He was getting so pissed off at the two of us, it was starting to drive me crazy… which I guess is why I actually came out and somehow talked myself into visiting you while on the plane."

Jack laughed, "I guess I'll have to add that to the list of things I need to thank your brain for then."

Sam laughed now as they reached the first security checkpoint to enter the building. They didn't talk much more as they traveled the short distances between the checkpoints to get to the inner rings of the Pentagon where they could move more freely. Sam stopped part way to Jack's office and pointed down the hall in another direction, "I'm off this way," she supplied.

Jack turned back to face her, nodding and adding "I'll call you when I'm finishing up… but it might not be for quite awhile."

Sam nodded, "I'll see you later then."

Jack moved a hand up and put it behind her head, pulling her in for a light kiss before pulling back muttering "Later." They grinned and turned to walk their separate ways. Later seemed way too long to wait.


	4. Chapter 4

Title? Distractions – Chapter 4

Author? MerlynLover

Summary? Sequel to Distractions 1, 2 & 3; Sam goes to track down some old friends at the Pentagon and she tells them about her life and Jack…

Ship? Sam/Jack

Rating? K

Disclaimer? None of these characters are mine, please don't sue me

A/N? I apologize for the delay… its NaNoWriMo month ( – check it out)… so I'm busy trying to write a novel during midterm season… hehe…

And also… my internet decided to kick the bucket for a little while, so I lost the updating ability… but now, I get to make everyone happy and post Chapters 3 – 6 right away and I am writing Chapter 7 tonight! Hope you like where I'm going… and if you don't, feel free to tell me I suck… :)

Now, on with the story… Enjoy! (and don't forget to review… I shall give you a cookie if you do!)

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As Sam Carter walked along the buzzing hallways of the Pentagon, nodding a quick acknowledgement as those she noticed. Many conversations and voices mingled into a hum bouncing in her ears until she heard two specific female voices she clearly recognized and remembered. "Hey Marie, have you heard the latest rumor for today?" Sam followed the echo of voices, tracing them to two captains standing near the wall of the farther side of the hallway only six or seven feet from her.

The conversation continued, "It depends… to which one are you referring?

"The one that Sam is around here today?"

"Sam… as in Sam Carter?"

"Yup…" Marie's comrade drawled, "you heard it?"

"Heck yes," she replied as if it were obvious, "Those who thought they had spotted her immediately ran about to find some of her friends to see if they knew yet," Marie groaned.

"Seen her yourself?"

"Nope," she said, drawing out the word slowly before adding "which is why I am inclined to disbelieve the rumor… you would think she would at least come and see us if she was here."

"Don't be so rude Mar, maybe she had stuff to do," the other Captain defended, "I mean… just because we haven't even heard anything about her let alone from her since she transferred out of here doesn't mean she would completely ignore us… right?" She had sounded so confident until the last few words and the question as to Marie's thoughts.

"I don't think so…" Marie didn't sound convinced even as she tried to convince her friend.

Sam bit corner of her lip realizing how what she had done looked to them, before deciding to work her way across the hall's lanes of traffic. The two Captains did not notice her approach as they finished their last lines, until Sam spoke once she was nearly upon them, "Well, you know the base grapevine can be unreliable… but I am tempted to believe this particular rumor." Sam had a splitting grin threatening to overtake her face as she delivered her lines that she knew one choice General would call a 'shit eating grin.'

Marie and her companion's heads snapped around to her so fast that Sam's thoughts immediately went to worries of whiplash. "Oh My God!" They shrieked in unison, so high pitched there was almost a pile up in the hall's traffic as many pairs of eyes turned to identify the source and reason of the high pitched squeals. Sam laughed out loud as four long arms were suddenly thrown mercilessly around her neck, two of them pulling her weight downwards as Susan, Marie's friend, was only about five feet, two inches, about seven inches shorter than Sam.

"How long have you been here? Where have you been all day? Why are you here? How come you didn't come see us? How come you didn't talk to us at all the past few years? What have you been doing lately? How's the men scene in Colorado?"

The barrage of questions battered Sam not allowing her to answer any, let alone the asker to finish the question before the next one was fired. But at the last question, Sam burst into a fit of giggles.

"What?" The girls asked in unison once again.

She sometimes forgot that she had friends that did not know about her and Jack. "Uh…" she tried to figure out how to start. Finally she decided on proposing "do you have some time to go somewhere… to catch up and talk?"

"Sure," they answered simultaneously yet again. Sam felt slightly nostalgic as she remembered when she was one of this group and would be one of the people actually talking in unison.

Maria and Susan immediately began leading the way through the halls, merging back into the flow of the traffic towards, if Sam remembered right, was towards the commissary. Having to walk in a more single file style to weave through the other people left them little chance for conversation until they reached the nearly deserted cafeteria. There were still a small handful of people sitting down at the tables and a few officers would wander in, grab a bit of fruit or a sandwich before leaving again to eat on the go or whilst in an upcoming meeting. Sam and the two friends found a table near the far corner, setting down purses and folders before Maria and Susan gestured towards the food, "You ate already Sam?"

"Yeah," she answered, grinning slyly, deciding to tell them once they were sitting.

Sam settled into her chair while the other two officers grabbed an apple each and different sandwiches. Obviously, in the down time, the food options were very limited… some things never changed. As the two sat back down facing Sam across the table, Susan started the interrogation. "So… most important question first… how hot are the men in Colorado?"

"Susan!" The two other women scolded teasingly.

"Alright," Maria began instead, "why are you back at the Pentagon? I didn't think you were so expendable that you could leave this super secret job of yours?" Though she had tried to hide it, the annoyance and jealousy came out from behind her words as she questioned her friend.

Sam sighed, "Hey… look guys… I am so sorry that I haven't contacted you at all since I went to Colorado Springs… I don't really know why I didn't, and I know that you probably shouldn't forgive me for that… but I just want to do the best I can and truthfully and sincerely apologize to you for that…" She trailed off, watching the expressions of her old friends.

Susan and Marie looked at each other, grinned, then turned back to Sam as Marie voiced "That wasn't what she asked you know…" The light, teasing tone was back and Sam grinned realizing that was their way of saying they forgave her and were just glad to have her back. For right now at least Sam realized and silently vowed to keep in better touch with them when she went back to the SGC. Sam opted to answer many of their questions at once as she took a deep breath and began…


	5. Chapter 5

Title? Distractions – Chapter 5

Author? MerlynLover

Summary? Sequel to Distractions 1, 2, 3 & 4; Sam tells her old friends about Jack and they give their opinion on him…

Ship? Sam/Jack

Rating? K

Disclaimer? None of these characters are mine, please don't sue me

A/N? I apologize for the delay… its NaNoWriMo month ( – check it out)… so I'm busy trying to write a novel during midterm season… hehe…

And also… my internet decided to kick the bucket for a little while, so I lost the updating ability… but now, I get to make everyone happy and post Chapters 3 – 6 right away and I am writing Chapter 7 tonight! Hope you like where I'm going… and if you don't, feel free to tell me I suck… :)

Now, on with the story… Enjoy! (and don't forget to review… I shall give you a cookie if you do!)

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"Well, I know you know that I can't tell you anything about what I do, but I'll at least tell you that it is amazing and way better than anything I could have ever imagined. I am part of a team of great people. There's Daniel, he's a civilian, but he feels like a brother to me, we get along so well and have only gotten closer as we have worked together as well as hung out together over the past ten years. And no, he's not any kind of love interest… no way!" She joked as she saw the look that passed between the two other women across from her.

Sam told them as much about Teal'c, or Murray, as she could without revealing too much. Before she moved on to talk about Jack, she turned the tables on them and bugged them to share their lives for a little while to be even with Sam. From there, Sam managed to tell them some about Pete, and got into ex-boyfriend horror stories from there not necessarily sticking to their own stories. That topic quickly turned into hilarious retellings of events they had done as a group while Sam was at the Pentagon that had them all laughing so hard they were in tears and/or falling out of their chairs as they recalled the fun times they had had together.

When Sam next looked at her watch, she marveled at the fact that several hours had passed in what had only felt like minutes. The beginnings of the dinner tidal wave was starting to ebb and flow into the lines to wait for the hot meals to arrive. "So Sam…" Susan drawled, "how is that love life? I seem to notice how you have conveniently avoided that particular question… time to answer it and we're not letting up until you do." She glanced at Marie who nodded in agreement,

"Time to hear the goods Sam"

Sam sighed again before ducking her head and smiling a little as she attempted avoidance, "how do you know if there even is someone?"

"Ha!" Marie laughed as Susan followed up with,

"Because of that little thing you just did with your head to avoid our eye and you smiled _that_ smile," she offered as explanation.

Sam half knew it wouldn't work and relented to describing Jack.

"Well, it's really only a thing that started at lunch today… or officially at least…" She paused and giggled at the childlike intense curiosity covering both of her friends' faces. "It's all Daniel's fault really… he was the one who made me come out here to 'look up old friends.' More of one friend in particular really… he was my commanding officer on our team for the past ten years. Then he got promoted to General and was in charge of the base for awhile before he tried to retire, but they made him come to work here instead so they could pick his brains," she giggled lightly, mostly to herself before continuing.

"When he transferred here, we were no longer in the same chain of command…" she left the end open, allowing Susan and Marie to figure out the details. Both knew her too well to assume that she would break the rules for fraternization, and therefore only left one assumption possibility for her. She had secretly and quietly loved her commanding officer for ten years before either of them had the opportunity to follow up on their feelings with actions.

Sam continued, "But we were both being stubborn and… Daniel got fed up and pissed off at me, so he figured sending me to D.C. would be easier than getting Jack to come back to the Springs and talk to me… but the 'easier' bit is pretty much only because he sees me at work every day instead of emailing or calling Jack, who can easily ignore him."

Susan and Marie shared a look between them as Sam continued, focusing on following the cracks in the paint on the tabletop. The women's silent conversation involved happiness for Sam, but with a bit of worry for her. They had never seen the look that was in Sam's eyes now even when talking about her other boyfriends when they had been current and she thought she was really in love. That had been almost a forced or created love with the other men she had dated. But now, this was a love that had grown on its own, Sam had probably even tried to hinder its progress.

This General though, if he didn't feel quite the same, or if he had gotten over her over the past few years, Sam could get very hurt, a stage her friends did not want to see her go through. But at the moment of the silent conversation, something caught Sam's eye that made her look up from the table on which she was imagining Jack's face. She looked up and saw the three dimensional version of that same man's face. Susan and Maria saw her look up and her eyes sparkled with a different kind of light as she quickly glanced at them and grinned before she stood up, and walked briskly over to the gray-haired General standing in the dinner line.

She walked up to him, his back to her as he talked to someone she couldn't see. Sam put a hand on Jack's shoulder, who turned around, immediately knowing who it was. He met her smile with one of his own. "Hi," he greeted and moved to kiss her on the cheek. Sam moved so that he instead kissed her lips and grinned as she pulled away.

"Whatcha doin'?" She asked, stealing one of his favorite lines.

His smile turned slightly apologetic as he answered, "Well, we're here to get a bite to eat to take over to the next meeting, so only stopping by… and can't stay."

"We?" she inquired as he stepped sideways revealing General Hammond with a textbook case of what a "shit eating grin" would be. "George!" She exclaimed and jumped forward to throw her arms around his neck like she would a favorite uncle.

"Hi Sam," he greeted warmly with his strong Texan accent as he hugged her back.

"It's been too long Sir," she commented, pulling away from him. Hammond nodded both realizing the last time they had seen the other was at Jacob's funeral.

Before any of them could speak again, there was a discretely conspicuous cough from one of the officers in line behind them notifying them of the fact that the line had moved forward. Sam seemed to ignore this until she flashed a bright smile at the two Generals saying "Well, I won't hold you up any longer… and I'll see you later." Jack partly wanted to smack the man who had coughed for making Sam leave, but at the same time, he might not have gotten that million watt smile or the great view of watching Sam walk away from him with what he was sure was an extra swagger in her hips. He forgot about the line moving forward without him until Hammond broke his focus with "Jack, you're holding up the dinner line with your ogling of your former second."

"Oh, right," Jack nodded and moved forward to grab a plate not bothering to contradict the General's comment.

As Sam made her way back to her table, Susan and Marie had another one of their silent conversations. They wordlessly agreed that this man was great for Sam and their actions matched perfectly. These two had not lost any of their feelings over the years and Jack was very much in love with Sam as well as the other way around.

Sam returned to them and sat down with a grin covering her whole face as she waited for the report card her friends were guaranteed to give of Jack. The two women shocked Sam slightly by only matching her grin and nodding their approval of him with a short comment each. "Nice catch, Sam," Susan began.

"You found your fish," Marie agreed.

Sam only burst out laughing in response to the fishing analogies that were so perfect in relation to Jack O'Neill.


	6. Chapter 6

Title? Distractions – Chapter 6

Author? MerlynLover

Summary? Sequel to Distractions1, 2, 3, 4 & 5; Sam and Jack head back to his apartment… let's see what happens, shall we? (nothing bad, I promise!)

Ship? Sam/Jack

Rating? K

Disclaimer? None of these characters are mine, please don't sue me

A/N? I apologize for the delay… its NaNoWriMo month ( – check it out)… so I'm busy trying to write a novel during midterm season… hehe…

And also… my internet decided to kick the bucket for a little while, so I lost the updating ability… but now, I get to make everyone happy and post Chapters 3 – 6 right away and I am writing Chapter 7 tonight! Hope you like where I'm going… and if you don't, feel free to tell me I suck… :)

Now, on with the story… Enjoy! (and don't forget to review… I shall give you a cookie if you do!)

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Sam, Marie and Susan all sat around a corner table in one of the Pentagon's commissaries reliving their memories. The three old friends chatted about guys, work, family and everything in between. Although, it was actually Sam who did most of the talking, in response to the seemingly unending questioning from her two comrades, and mostly all related to her newfound relationship to General Jack O'Neill. "New" didn't quite seem to give it any justice as they had only truly become a couple several hours ago over a lunch of fish and nerves.

Sam was answering yet another barrage of questions when her cell phone rang. Sam looked at her watch as she pulled the phone out of her pocket. 2100 hours, 3 hours since he had stopped by with General Hammond to pick up some dinner before leaving immediately for another meeting. Her caller ID confirmed her suspicions that Jack was calling her, most likely to say he was done for the day.

Sam had agreed to stay in his apartment for the duration of her short visit. Jack had volunteered for the couch, but Sam had argued out of it, partly because she knew he would be stiffer than her in the morning after a night on the couch, but also because the thought of sleeping in Jack's bed unnerved her.

With her friends grinning at her like cats with yellow feathers in their teeth, Sam stood up and walked a short distance away from the table to answer the call. The commissary was empty, making her voice echo, so she wasn't sure why she left the table anyway. "Hello Jonathan," she began, grimacing and shooting a glare back at the two women. She could hardly believe they had gotten her to do that.

The surprise was evident in his voice, but he chuckled slightly before responding, "Well, you're not calling me 'Sir' or 'General,' so I guess that's a step up." He continued, "I'm just about finished up here, so if you're ready to go…"

"I'm ready when you are Sir," She said, answering his unfinished question. "Shall I meet you at your office?" She continued.

"You still at the commissary?" He asked

"Yeah," she responded easily.

"You're closer to the outside doors than I am, so how about I meet you there and we'll head topside?" He inquired, using a term that applied more to Cheyenne Mountain than the Pentagon.

"Sounds good," she replied.

"Alright… see you in about… five or so minutes."

"Sure, see you then." She countered before they hung up and Sam headed back to the table.

For the next five minutes, Sam was teased about the fact that she always acted like a love-struck teenager when she was talking to Jack. Sam sighed and accepted the teasing lightly, slightly relieved that she didn't have to answer any more questions, although she was still the center of attention for the one-sided conversation.

When Jack walked into the deserted commissary, except for the three women, Sam was so happy to see his face, she forgot about her friends' annoyances. She rose quickly to meet him and hugged him, melting into his warm embrace as if they had been doing so for months, not hours. Jack bent his head to kiss the side of her neck, also happy to see her, still euphoric over the fact that this was real. Sam was here and he could kiss, hug or touch her any time he wanted without worrying about or caring who saw.

"Good to go?" He asked quietly, pulling away from her but keeping his hands on her shoulders.

"Just about," she answered before turning back to her friends to hug them and say goodbye in case she didn't see them the next two days she was in town as well as promising to keep in better touch from now on.

They waved as Sam turned back to Jack and stepped in unison towards the door. The two made their way through the halls that were now much calmer and quieter, content to just walk side by side in comfortable silence, happy to just be with the other. They stopped at the lockers and picked up Sam's small duffle bag before heading for the street. A yellow taxi sat waiting for them and Sam turned, inquiring, to look at Jack, who shrugged and offered "High heels," as an explanation. Meaning, of course, Sam's dress blues required footwear of painful heels, especially when used to combat boots.

She smiled gratefully at him as she climbed into the cab. The car drove a short distance to an apartment complex just outside the heart of the city. Jack paid and as they climbed out, he offered "Welcome to my elegant palace."

Sam giggled and grinned at him before stepping towards the door. Jack followed a step behind until they arrived at the door, which Jack unlocked and they headed to the elevator. Jack punched the highest number, 8, and the doors closed as the chamber began its ascent. They stood next to each other once again, the situation feeling familiar to that of the many SGC elevator rides they had shared. The doors opened quickly revealing a T-shaped hallway with four numbered doors. Jack walked to the door on the immediate left to unlock and provide entrance to the surprisingly large apartment. The inside looked a lot bigger than the outside gave it credit for.

The door opened immediately into the spacey living room where Jack's old leather couch and armchairs sat around a large TV and DVD rack displaying all of the season's of _The Simpsons_. But then, Sam noticed a few cardboard boxes sitting in the corner. Jack watched the path of her eyes and explained "I don't have a mantle here, so I have to actually hang the pictures and stuff… but I haven't gotten there yet."

On the side wall, there were two doorways, one of which didn't actually have a door, but led into a moderately sized kitchen. The other doorway led to, as Sam could just barely see, Jack's bed and dresser through the half open door. The bathroom must be off the bedroom, Sam thought as she realized there was no third door that she could see leading to a bathroom.


	7. Chapter 7

Title? Distractions – Chapter 7

Author? MerlynLover

Summary? Sequel to Distractions 1 – 6; Sam and Jack spend the night in his apartment… cute scenes! (Nothing bad, I promise!)

Ship? Sam/Jack

Rating? K (K+?)

Disclaimer? None of these characters are mine, please don't sue me

A/N? I apologize for the delay… its NaNoWriMo month ( – check it out)… so I'm busy trying to write a novel during midterm season… hehe…

And also… my internet decided to kick the bucket for a little while, so I lost the updating ability… but now, I get to make everyone happy and post Chapters 3 – 6 right away and I am writing Chapter 7 tonight! Hope you like where I'm going… and if you don't, feel free to tell me I suck… :)

I know Chapter 6 left off in a weird spot… but it was getting late and I needed to get up early sooo… here we go, continuing from that…

Now, on with the story… Enjoy! (and don't forget to review… I shall give you a cookie if you do!)

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*~*Previously:

On the side wall, there were two doorways, one of which didn't actually have a door, but led into a moderately sized kitchen. The other doorway led to, as Sam could just barely see, Jack's bed and dresser through the half open door. The bathroom must be off the bedroom, Sam thought as she realized there was no third door that she could see leading to a bathroom.

*~*And now…

Jack again tracked the movements of her eyes as she scanned the room. "Want to take a shower?" He asked.

Sam turned to look at him, her eyes lighting up. Jack knew the stale, dry feel you got after having been on a commercial flight that just made you long for a warm shower. "Yes," she responded earnestly.

Jack tried not to let his mind go too many strange places with that 'yes,' but responded, "Actually, you mind if I go first? Then I can make up the couch while you take yours…?"

"Sure," Sam agreed with the logic and walked over to her duffle bag as Jack then turned to head into the bedroom. Sam waited until she heard the water start before quickly changing into her tank top and shorts. Sam looked down at her belly where no scar resided from a stabbing her first year on SG-1. The non-existent scar was thankful to Janet Frasier and made it possible to continue wearing this tank top, much to the appreciation of Jack O'Neill.

Sam sat down on the worn leather of the sofa and took inventory of her duffle bag, for lack of anything else to do, save for snoop around the drawers and cupboards of Jack's apartment, which she wasn't going to do… or at least not now.

Sam heard the shower's water turn off and gathered her towel and cosmetics bag. She rose and as she peered through the still half open door into the bedroom, a shirt-less Jack O'Neill entered her vision. Sam couldn't help but stare at the wonderfully toned torso and attempted to pick up her jaw from the floor and prevent any drooling. Jack pulled his gray Air Force t-shirt over his head and Sam recovered her facial features to look reasonably neutral as he started for the door.

Jack entered the living room, sweeping his arm towards the door from which he had just exited with an "All yours."

"Thanks," Sam managed to form the words and quickly disappeared through the doorway. Sam forced herself not to pause and admire his bedroom any longer than it took to move into the bathroom and lock herself in. Sam turned on the water and climbed into its soothing, warm spray to collect her thoughts. Sam quickly relaxed while under the warm water, feeling herself now wishing for sleep, she climbed out and got ready for bed before heading back out to the bedroom.

Sam wandered back out to the living room, where Jack sat, holding a beer, on the couch watching an old movie she immediately recognized, but hadn't seen in years. He hadn't heard her exit and she walked up behind him to reach over his shoulder and pluck the bottle out of his grip easily. Jack tilted his head back to look at her upside down as she took a long gulp from the glass container.

With a proud smirk on her lips, she handed the bottle back to Jack before walking around and collapsing onto the cushion next to him. He made a move for the remote, but she spoke first "Don't." Jack looked at her curiously, about to speak, but she beat him to it. "I haven't seen this movie in years… I want to watch it," she said, while her body protested, crying for rest. Jack nodded and replied, grinning "sure… as long as you don't fall asleep and start drooling on my shoulder."

Sam nodded and the two turned their attention back to the television. However, not fifteen minutes later, Jack could tell Sam was fading fast, slowly beginning to inch her weight onto Jack's side, her head drooping low in the direction of his shoulder, but if he looked at her, she would perk up for a second as if trying to convince him she was still awake and alert.

*~*~*

If Jack hadn't grabbed his customary beer before bed, he would probably care a bit more about Sam's sleepiness and would have turned off the movie long ago, but now he had the problem of a sleeping Colonel on his shoulder. Sam had securely trapped him between her body and the corner of the couch. Jack considered his predicament sleepily, the beer having relaxed him to the point where he must not have noticed (or chose to ignore) where Sam was positioning her body. He was sure she had truly fallen asleep quite some time ago and had not realized what her arms were doing. He must have drifted in and out of sleep himself he realized, as his arm, which had started on the back of the couch, had drifted down to rest over her shoulders and the other on the arm of the armrest while Sam's arms seemed to hold him captive.

One of her arms was securely wedged between their rib cages while her other had wound around his belly. How in the world had she gotten her arms there? He was sure she had truly fallen asleep quite some time ago and had not realized what her arms were doing. Jack's last conscious thought for the evening was that he should probably get up somehow and move to his own bed, but as he thought this, Sam snuggled closer into him and he felt his own head tilt sideways to rest upon hers as he quickly fell back asleep.

*~*~*

The morning sun shone through the window just brightly enough to barely wake up Jack. Still mostly asleep, he felt a warm body pressed up next to his. So much like one of the dreams he had been having since he left for D.C., he nuzzled the person's neck, breathing in the familiar scent of Sam Carter. The body moved to snuggle closer to him and she hummed slightly.

The hum made Sam's chest vibrate slightly against Jack's chest. '_Wait a second…' _he thought, '_this is too real.' _He woke up a little bit more, enough to realize that this was not a dream. '_Oh Shit.' _Jack quickly assessed his situation. '_How in the Hell…?'_ He was spooned tightly against Sam on the small leather couch, her duffle bag had been kicked to the floor at some point in the relocation of their bodies from a sitting position to this.

There was absolutely no way he was going to get out of this position without massive awkwardness, so Jack made a judgment call for his predicament: Stay where he was until Sam woke up and pretend to be asleep. As Jack made his decision, Sam's unconscious mind decided she wanted more of Jack's affection and pressed back into him, her neck pressing against Jack's cheek. Her soft skin brushed across his face, teasing him and feeling a bit like a cat, Jack couldn't stop himself from rubbing his face against the exposed skin of her tantalizingly long neck.

Sam's entire body suddenly tensed, displaying that she was now awake and Jack froze where he was. "Please tell me you're asleep," Sam's voice cracked through the silence.

"I was when I started," Jack defended weakly.

There was a long pause as Sam now assessed the situation.

"How did we…" She began the strange question.

"I have no idea," Jack told her truthfully.

Sam quickly rose from the couch and stood, running a hand through her messy hair. Every nerve in Jack's body screamed for her to return, having enjoyed the feel of her next to him. Jack sat up slowly and reached a hand out to take hold of her wrist before she could walk away. He stood, questioning "Do you have to go?"

"I need coffee Jack," she told him, the sleep still evident in her eyes.

Jack's free hand moved up to curve it's way around her chin and caress her cheek before moving a step closer. Sam offered no objection as he leaned in to kiss her. The kiss quickly turned more passionate than those they had shared the previous day and the two relished the feeling of it. But Sam soon pulled away before getting too caught up. She didn't pull far away from him however and kept her eyes closed. "I need coffee," she repeated before quickly turning and striding towards the kitchen.

Jack sighed, a smile on his lips as he watched her go. _'Oh yeah… I could get used to this,'_ he thought before following Sam.


	8. Fake Chapter 8

Hey everyone!

I can probably assume that you have all forgotten about my story by now as I haven't updated in forever and I apologize. Forgive me if I give you a cookie? The problem was that I never intended the story to go past one chapter, but by request from reviewers, I expanded it and promptly got stuck. I knew where I wanted to go with my story, but not how to get there from where I typed myself to. (You ended that sentence with a preposition! *expletives courtesy of Jack*) But anyway… I am rather busy with schoolwork lately, but I think that I have figured out where to go from here. However, I do prefer to write large chunks, then post in smaller chunks as the larger chunks finish, so you may have to wait a bit more time for me to get some chapters up, but I will try to get them done as quickly as possible! Thanks for all your patience! Love you guys for all your support (special kudos to Justa SG1 Fan for kicking me a bit and making me think about this story again after a while)

And also, for those of you with Author Alert on me, I have written several other stories during the time that I spent not writing Distractions and will hopefully finish up the end of those (most are already finished) and I will start posting those as well.

I'll stop writing now and go back to Distractions… please don't kill me :)


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